


Moms Give the Best Hugs

by AutisticWriter



Series: Riley's Prompt Meme Fills [45]
Category: Zombieland Saga (Anime)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Family, Alternate Universe - Human, Anger, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Canon Trans Character, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fights, Gift Fic, Mostly Gen, Motherhood, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Nikaido Saki, One Shot, POV First Person, Parenthood, Slurs, Swearing, Trans Female Character, Trans Konno Junko, Trans Minamoto Sakura, Trans Mizuno Ai, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-01 16:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20261050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: When Yugiri gets a call from her children’s high school, she learns Saki got into a fight. But when she learns the whole truth, she finds herself proud rather than angry, she and Tae make sure to comfort their children when they get home.





	Moms Give the Best Hugs

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU, Yugiri is related to Kotarou, so her surname is Tatsumi.

Having been a mother for ten years, I have come to learn something very important: when you get a phone call from the school your children attend, it is never good news. Whether they are injured or sick and need to be taken home, or something more serious such as news they got a detention or got into a fight or were doing something illegal on campus, all the causes of the sudden calls are bad news.

So when my cell phone rang earlier and I saw the caller ID was the high school four of my five children attend, I tensed up, expecting the worst. And, of course, I was right.

“We need you to come to the school as soon as possible, Tatsumi-san. I don’t know the details, but there was a fight and…”

I had a feeling that would be it. So, rather than reacting with shock, I simply said, “I understand. I will be there soon,” and headed to the hallway to get ready.

That was ten minutes ago. At this moment, I park the car in the emptying parking lot at the high school, amazed by how many students are still hanging around after school has ended. As I approach the building, I send Tae a short text, wanting to get her up to speed with the situation – and possibly explain why the house is empty when she gets home later, if we end up here for too long.

When I reach the entrance, the office staff buzz me inside and I get handed a pass to hang around my neck; having visited schools many times, none of this phases me. I also happen to know where the headmistress’ office is, so I don’t need help locating the place.

Reaching the door, I knock and open it – and immediately get hit by loud voices.

“I know, Sensei, but—”

“Please refrain from shouting at me, Saki-kun.”

Just as a suspected, Saki is red with anger, hands pressed against the edge of the desk as she leans forwards in her seat, engaged in a heated discussion with Sakaeguchi-san, the headmistress.

Beside her, Ai and Junko keep quiet, their chairs pulled close so they can hold hands. And, to my complete shock, Sakura has Lily sat on her lap, cradling my youngest as she cries.

“Lily?” I say. “What are you doing here?”

Unlike the others, Lily is still in junior high school. As the schools are close, she often meets her older siblings at the gate after classes are over for the day, but I have never actually seen her on the campus. And why is she crying?

“Oh, Mom!” Saki cries, spinning around and staring at me. “Mom, help! She won’t listen!”

“First of all,” I say, trying to take this all in. “Can someone please fill me in on the situation?”

As I cross the room and take the empty seat, Lily climbs off of Sakura and approaches me. Despite, at twelve years of age, being a bit too big for hugs, Lily always sits on my lap when upset. So I open my arms and let her climb on, holding her close.

“Perhaps Sakura-kun can explain,” Sakaeguchi-san says, and Sakura flinches at the honorific.

Unlike Saki, who doesn’t care what honorifics are tacked onto her name, my other children hate having ‘-kun’ added to the end of their names. It is too masculine, and each of them take it as badly as if someone used their deadnames. And Tae and I made sure to tell the staff that when we enrolled our children, so I have to sigh, exasperated.

Still, being the mature girl she is, Sakura avoids a fight, instead turning to look at me. “Um… Lily-chan was waiting for us at the gate after classes ended, and… as we were walking towards her, these third year boys went over to her and started… harassing her.” Her voice trembles, and I spot tears in her eyes. Lily whines, burying her face in my neck. “They were bringing up her career as a form child actress and kept using her deadname and calling her a boy, and they were so much taller than her and she was scared so we ran over and Saki told them to leave her alone but…”

“It’s okay,” Junko whispers, handing her sister a tissue.

“They just turned on us instead, and they called u-us trannies and Saki got super mad so she punched one of them and…” Sakura breaks down sobbing, and my heart shatters.

“You don’t need to say anymore,” Ai says softly.

Sakura sniffs, scrubbing at her face with the tissue.

But Sakaeguchi-san seems totally unbothered by the two crying girls before her. “The fight was broken up before anyone got seriously injured, but we did have to send one of the students to hospital for an X-ray. Do you understand the severity of the situation, Tatsumi-san?”

Of course I understand the situation! My twelve year old daughter was being bullied by a pair of boys five years older than her, scaring her out of her mind! My children were subjected to transphobic bullying! My eldest resorted to potentially breaking someone’s nose to protect herself and her siblings!

However, I know the real focus of this situation. All that matters is that Saki punched someone. All that matters in a school incident is who physically injured who; nothing that led up to it matters. I sigh; some things never change.

I want to argue, but I know I will get nowhere. Saki’s truancy and Sakura’s poor grades have left our family with a bad reputation at this school, and I don’t want to anger the headmistress further. I sigh again.

“I understand,” I say. “What is your suggestion for what happens next?”

“As Lily-chan doesn’t go to my school, she can be left out of this completely. However, I think the other four should have detention for—”

“Wait, what did they do?!” Saki cries as her sisters flinch. “I punched the bastard, but leave them out of it!”

“Saki…” I say in a warning tone. I know my eldest, and I know she would almost certainly end up punching the headmistress if the argument continued much longer.

Saki sighs heavily, folds her arms and leans back in her seat.

“But, um… Saki has a point,” Ai says in a tiny voice.

“I have to agree, Sakeguchi-san,” I say. “Whilst I believe she only did it to protect her sister, Saki did engage in violence. If you must, punish her. However, Ai, Junko and Sakura did nothing wrong.”

“But they did nothing to try and diffuse the situation—”

“Yes we did,” Junko says, squeezing Ai’s hand tighter. “But it was so terrifying…”

“With all due respect, Sakeguchi-san” – _although I’m unsure what respect is due at this point_, I think – “I think it’s unfair to blame them for not acting like the police in a situation where their little sister was in danger.” I lean forwards, giving her my best Do Not Mess With Me expression, the sort that scares Saki when she is trying to be lippy. “Punish Saki if you must, but leave the others out of it. Oh, and I expect you to punish the boys who started this too. do you understand?”

To my satisfaction, Sakeguchi-san recoils slightly, staring at me with wide eyes. She clears her throat, taking a second to regain her composure, before nodding at me. “Of course, Tatsumi-san. Now… would you please take them home?”

I nod, and give Lily a gentle nudge until she climbs off of me. I take her hand and get to my feet, motioning for the others to do the same. And, somewhat satisfied by her reaction, I lead the way out of the office, my children following behind me.

When we reach the car, everyone breaks out into frantic speech.

“Sorry for dragging you into this, Mom,” Junko says from the passenger seat.

Lily sniffles. “If Saki hadn’t come along, what would’ve…?”

“I can’t BELIVE those assholes!” Saki cries, slamming her hand against the inside of the door.

Ai sighs, slipping off her shoes and crossing her legs. “Thanks, Mom…”

“At least nobody got hurt,” Sakura says, always trying to stay positive.

I shift in my seat, directing my gaze towards each of them. “I think we’ll leave the important discussion until your Ma gets home. For now… would you like the music on?”

The tension in the car dissipates somewhat, and, as I start the car, Junko fiddles with the dashboard, scrolling through the music available whilst the others offer suggestions. Honestly, I’m not sure how our conversation will go. I just have to hope Tae will keep calm when she learns the full extent of what happened.

\---

I feel for Tae; as the stay-at-home parent, I get to see a lot more of our children. But, as the one who goes out to work, Tae only sees them in the evenings most days. And today is no exception, the clock reading 7pm when Tae’s key turns in the lock and she enters the house.

Just like normal, Lily drops whatever she is holding (in this case, her PS Vita; hopefully it doesn’t break) and hurtles out into the hallway to meet Tae. From the kitchen, where I am loading the dishwasher, I hear Lily cry “Ma!” and Tae’s fond laughter.

Also like normal, Saki sits cross-legged on the armchair, playing on the PS4. But her focus is lacking, and I know she has barely made any progress on her game. Sakura watches Saki play her video game, but her eyes are glazed and she doesn’t pay much attention. And Ai and Junko are in the dining room, sat at the low table as they help each other with their homework – again, not making much progress. I haven’t been angry with them, but the tension has not gone. After all, my children know what happened today was serious.

Sensing the need to join them, I venture into the sitting room. Tae walks in seconds later, Lily clinging to her hand. Tae frowns, reading the tension in the room; my partner isn’t the most talkative person, but her facial expressions are incredibly easy to read. My texts were vague, but she already knows the severity of the situation.

“Hi, gang,” Tae says, waggling her fingers. Since the day we first adopted Saki, ten years ago, she has insisted on doing that whenever she gets home. Saki used to howl with laughter, but these days just rolls her eyes at the silly tradition. “Um… Mom told me things were bad, but I dunno the details.”

Ai and Junko wander into the room, smiling at Tae. She crosses the room and hugs them both, before walking over to me.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Things were… difficult,” I say. “Before we discuss anything more, I think I should explain the situation.”

Behind me, Sakura sighs in relief, obviously glad not to be forced to tell the story again.

Tae gives me a quick kiss, and nods. “Okay.”

Soon, we all sit down, none of my children looking at me. They look… ashamed.

Taking a deep breath, I tell the whole story. I don’t sugar-coat it, forcing myself to say the slurs that were slung at my children, before fighting back my anger when I recount the irritating encounter with the headmistress. Throughout my story, Tae just sits there, starting to tremble. At the end, her eyes fill with tears.

“She wanted to give you all detention…?” Tae says, staring at Sakura, Ai and Junko. They nod. “What a bitch.”

I usually don’t let swearing slide in our house, but I ignore this one (and not because I agree with Tae or anything).

“You poor things… I, uh… I dunno what to say,” Tae says, and her tears spill over.

In an instant, Lily is on her lap, hugging her close. “No, Ma, don’t cry.”

I cross the room and begin to stroke Tae’s hair, a comforting gesture. “I understand.”

Tae looks at our children, eyes sparkling as tears leak down her face. “You… you’re all so brave. I… I’m proud of you.”

Now Tae has said it, I feel as if I can finally say it too. I smile as I say, “I’m proud of you too. You protected Lily and stood up for yourselves. Oh, Saki, is your hand all right?”

“Just a bit bruised,” she mumbles, holding up her hand.

Junko wanders over and sidles up to me. I open my arms and she steps closer, letting me hug her. “Thank you,” she whispers.

Lily looks at Junko and I, and snuggles closer to Tae. “Moms give the best hugs,” she whispers, making Tae chuckle.

“You’re not mad?” Ai asks, her focus on my words rather than the large amount of hugging in the room.

“Not at you,” I say. “Mainly at the boys who started this all and your useless headmistress. I know we should have the conversation about violence being bad, but…”

“Sometimes, it is the answer,” Tae says, finishing my sentence as I trail off. “If it’s to protect yourselves or someone you love, punch as many assholes as you want.”

That makes Lily laugh, and her laughter is infectious. Soon, everyone is laughing, including the still sobbing Tae, and I study them all, amazed. Tae is correct; sometimes, hitting others can be the right thing to do. And regardless, Saki protected Lily and her other sisters. I am proud of her for that.

Sometimes, I doubt our parenting. But on days like today, I know Tae and I have done a wonderful job.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want me to write you a short fic, drop in a prompt at my [personal prompt meme](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/AutisticWriters_Personal_Prompt_Meme)!
> 
> [My tumblr](https://anautisticwriter.tumblr.com/).


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